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The Diliad, or Deiliad, is a lost parody of the Iliad composed by Nicochares and cited in Aristotle’s Poetics. In chapter two of his treatise, Aristotle describes the characters of The Diliad as examples of personages whose moral integrity is below that of the average man, in other words, knaves. By mentioning The Diliad so early in his treatise on poetry, Aristotle appears to place the work in a preeminent position within the genre of comedy. Sadly, however, Aristotle makes no further reference to either Nicochares or The Diliad for the rest of the Poetics, casting doubt in some minds on the quality of the parody. There is no other surviving classical reference to The Diliad,[1] thus lending the work an incredible amount of mystique in certain comically intellectual circles.[2]

The Date of Creation of The Diliad

Nicochares died circa 345 B.C.[3] thus placing the creation of The Diliad on or prior to that date, for reasons that are obvious by simple logic – one cannot create a work after they are dead.[4] In his novel, A Frolic of His Own, William Gaddis refers to Nicochares on page 324 (in the Scribner softback edition).[5] Annotations for the book describe Nicochares as a 5th century B.C. poet,[6] thus conflicting with other sources on the time of Nicochares’ death. Nevertheless all sources agree that Nicochares' version of The Diliad was composed before his death.

The Cult of The Diliad

Because it is a lost text based on a universally recognized story, The Diliad offers a unique combination of both mystery and familiarity that has captured the human imagination for over 2000 years. Constantly frustrated in their attempts to discover manuscripts or unearth even mere fragments of The Diliad, generation after generation of Greek scholars and enthusiasts have plucked their goose feather quills to create the work for themselves. As this tradition ingrained itself in Byzantine academic society, the ritual became formalized eventually resulting in what became known as the Cult of the Diliad around the 10th century A.D. (Anno Diliad). [7]


By the Middle Ages the cult's strict rules of secrecy were highly codified. Before donning cap and gown graduates would perform a Diliad written by a select group of peers. Following performance of the skit all content and record of it would be destroyed. The performance of an original version of The Diliad was considered a rite of passage for many of the top monasteries, along with the subsequent ritual of ceremoniously burning the manuscript so that it could join Nicochares' original work. [8]

Modern carbon-dating techniques reveal many top Medieval thinkers to be part of this cult.[9] Before proving the existence of God through doubling back on his logic, St. Anselm is reported to have earned his bona fides with wickedly homo-erotic double entendres in his dialogues between Achilles and Patroclus.[10] And while in strict adherence to the strictures of the cult, St. Thomas Aquinas never published any reference to The Diliad in the Summa Theologica, his magnum opus, he did once write in a spuriously attributed lesser opus that "the path to theology is paved with The Diliad." This epigram is taken to mean, nobody could list all the perfect attributes of God without first listing all the ways that make Helen of Troy such a skank.[11]

Even to this day such infamous secret societies as Harvard's Skull and Bones and the American Medical Association are thought to be modern outgrowths of the Cult of the Diliad.[12]

The Influence of the The Diliad on Modern Language

In fact, these Diliad performances were taken so seriously in scholastic circles that the word describing the hard work put into producing a Diliad has come down to the English language through the word, "diligence."[13] Meanwhile, the word, "skittish," is etymologically derived from an ironic appellation applied to those too timid to perform in the skits.[14]


The Influence of The Diliad on Modern Literature and Comedy

For a lost work, The Diliad has shown itself to have incredible influence even up to modern times. What follows are just some of the references made to it in the past century.

In an interview for the New Republic with journalist, Stephen Glass, contemporary Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis uses an anecdote involving The Diliad to describe the writing process.[15] “As I wrote The Last Temptation of Christ I considered many potential temptations for my protagonist. Before finally settling on the idea to tempt Jesus with a lengthy, yet unfulfilling, life as a family man, I long considered the idea of tempting him away from his ministry with a gold-embroidered, leatherbound edition of Nicochares’ Diliad eloquently translated into the most lyrical Aramaic. However, I squashed that idea like a rotten olive when I realized it would, of course, be impossible for Christ to deny himself such a wonderful temptation.” Incidentally, Kazantzakis is able to trace his ancestry all the way back to the same ethnicity as Nicochares - Greek.[16]

In 1996 Al Pacino released, Looking for Richard, a film documenting his desire to perform Shakespeare’s Richard III. In his review of the film, notable, nationally-televised critic, Roger Ebert states, “Look, I’ve already found Richard III. It’s on my bookshelf, right next to Richard II. What I am looking for is a copy of The Diliad. I bet it’s hilarious… Thumbs down for me, Gene.”[17]

In perhaps the most touching reference to The Diliad, upon the untimely death of comedian Phil Hartman, Andy Dick in a tearful interview with David Letterman on The Late Show, conveyed his sorrow with the following simile, “It’s like losing The Diliad. Once it’s gone there is no getting it back.”[18]

Hip Hop is a medium of artistic expression characterized by music sampling and cultural referencing also known as “giving shout-outs.” Perhaps no other hip-hop artist is more famous than Snoop Doggy Dogg or "Snoop Dogg" for short. In a Michigan concert, he once greeted the audience, “Hello Detroit. What’s the Diliad?”[19] A salutation met with great applause.

Nobel laureate, Octavio Paz, once harshly criticized fellow Latin American fictionalist and literary critic, Jorge Luis Borges, in a highly critical essay entitled, “Pierre Menard, Author of the Diliad.”[20] In this essay Paz famously castigates all South American authors for their self-indulgence and redundancy. The essay focuses on Borges’ short story, “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote,” in which a modern-day writer miraculously manages to recreate the novel, Don Quixote, word for word.[21] “Why do we need another Quixote?” asks Paz, “I already have that book. Borges would have served the world much better if he had created a character that could have re-written The Diliad for us. Now that would be magical realism. O Dios mio! I’m dying to read the hilarious parody of the Iliad!”[22]


Notes

  1. ^ Google Search, "Diliad Nicochares"
  2. ^ Hendra, Tony (June 2002), "MORNING IN AMERICA: The rise and fall of the National Lampoon", Harper's, 304 (1825): 59–66
  3. ^ Nicochares
  4. ^ Copi, Irving M. (1979), Symbolic Logic, Macmillan, p. 1, ISBN 0023249803
  5. ^ Gaddis, William (1995), A Frolic of His Own, Scribner, ISBN 0684800527
  6. ^ Annotations by Steven Moore, On Nicochares
  7. ^ Huizinga, Johann (1996), The Autumn of the Middle Ages, Chicago: University of Chicago, p. 420, ISBN 0226359921
  8. ^ Cantor, Norman (1994), The Civilization of the Middle Ages, Harper Perennial, p. 1313, ISBN 0060925531
  9. ^ Buglioso, Vincent (1974), Helter Skelter, W. W. Norton, p. 98, ISBN 0393322238
  10. ^ Durant, William (1980), The Age of Faith, Simon and Schuster, p. 39, ISBN 0671012002
  11. ^ Durant, William (1980), The Age of Faith, Simon and Schuster, p. 79, ISBN 0671012002
  12. ^ Moore, Michael (2006), Sicko (Film), Weinstein Company
  13. ^ Watt, William W. (1952), An American Rhetoric, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, p. 100, ISBN 030797659 {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
  14. ^ Watt, William W. (1952), An American Rhetoric, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, p. 101, ISBN 030797659 {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
  15. ^ Glass, Stephen (5/18/98), "Hack Heaven", New Republic, 218 (20): 11–12 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  16. ^ Kazantzakis, Nikos (1965), Report to Greco, Simon and Schuster
  17. ^ The Siskel and Ebert Show, Review of Looking for Richard
  18. ^ The David Letterman Show, A Tender Moment
  19. ^ Get on the Bus, with Snoop
  20. ^ Paz, Octavio (1994), The Labyrinth of Solitude, Grove Press, p. 98-100, ISBN 080215042X
  21. ^ Borges, Jorge Luis (1994), Ficciones, Grove Press, p. 45-56, ISBN 0802130305
  22. ^ Paz, Octavio (1994), The Labyrinth of Solitude, Grove Press, p. 98-100, ISBN 080215042X


References

  • Glass, Stephen (2003). The Fabulist. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0743227123.
  • Tierno, Michael (2002). Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters: Storytelling Secrets From the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 0786887400.
  • Wallace, David Foster (1996). Infinite Jest. Boston: Little Brown. ISBN 0316920045.
  • Cervantes, Miguel de (1999). Don Quijote. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-97281-x.
  • Paz, Octavio (1994). The Labyrinth of Solitude. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 080215042X.
  • Borges, Jorge Luis (1994). Ficciones. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0802130305.
  • Kazantzakis, Nikos (1965). Report to Greco. New York: Simon and Schuster. ASIN B000CNW5OY.
  • Copi, Irving M. (1997). Symbolic Logic. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0023249803.
  • Gaddis, William (1995). A Frolic of His Own. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0684800527.
  • Huizinga, Johann (1996). The Autumn of the Middle Ages. Chicago: University of Chicago. ISBN 0226359921.
  • Cantor, Norman (1994). The Civilization of the Middle Ages. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 0060925531.
  • Buglioso, Vincent (1974). Helter Skelter. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0393322238.
  • Durant, William (1980). The Age of Faith. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671012002.
  • Watt, William W. (1952). An American Rhetoric. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 030797659.
  • Homer (1998). Chapman's Homer: The Iliad. Princeton: Princeton/Bollingen. ISBN 0-691-00236-3.
  • Shakespeare, William (1988). Richard II. New York: Bantam Classics. ISBN 0553213032.
  • Shakespeare, William (1988). Richard III. New York: Bantam Classics. ISBN 0553213040.
  • Robbins, Alexandra (2002). Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power. New York: Back Bay Books. ISBN 0316735612.
  • Schloss, Joseph (2004). Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based Hip-Hop. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan. ISBN 0819566969.
  • Kazantzakis, Nikos (1998). The Last Temptation of Christ. New York: Touchstone. ISBN 068485256X.
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